Spring support for road guards



Jan. 22, 1935. E. v. CAMP 1,938,995

SPRING SUPPORT FOR ROAD GUARDS Filed Jan. 14, 1933 HEW? ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES SPRING SUPPORT FOR. ROAD GUARDS.

Eugene V. Camp, Atlanta, Ga.

Application January 14 8 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in road guards comprising longitudinal impact members, secured to posts or other supports disposed along the road to be guarded, the impact members heing attached to the. posts by spring supports; the object of the invention being to provide a relatively simple but highly eflicient form of spring support or connector adapted to be attached to-the spaced posts or supports by bolts or similar fastening means and provided with means for engaging the impact member.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of a road guard with the novel spring supports.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the guard at one of the posts or supports.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of one of the spring supports before the latter has been bent into its ultimate ring form.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 6 is a sectional end elevation.- Referring .to the drawing, 1, 1 indicate posts 25, or supports located in proper spaced relation along the edge of the road or highway to be guarded to support the longitudinal impact-member or members, such as and preferably in the form of continuous strips 2, 2 of sheet steel or the like, so disposedl' as to prevent a vehicle I skidding or being forced off the road and serving to deflect the vehicle engaging the same back onto the road. As shown, two such impact members or resilient strips are employed, but it will be understood that, if desired, a single impact member may be used to gbod effect.

In road guards of this general type,'it has been found desirable to support the impact members at some distance from the posts or similar sup- 40 ports to minimize the chances of the vehicle striking the posts or supports, and the instant invention provides a novel type of spring supporting member adapted tobe interposed between the impact member of the guard and the posts,

which is relatively simple and cheap to fabricate,

which may be easily applied and which will permit the impact member to be stretched under the necessary degree of tension without interfering with the connections between the impact mem- 5 her and the spring support. Said support comprises a generally ring-shaped body 10 formed of sheet steel with one face of the ring secured to the post or other support and the other face provided with means, for engaging the impact member of the guard. In the preferred form'of 1933, SerialNo. 651,795

the spring support, the body of the same is cut from a sheet of steel or the like with an upper straight edge, a somewhat convexed lower edge and substantially rectangular ends, which latter are bent on parallel lines at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the strips to form ears 11, which are substantially normal to the plane of the strip, when the latter is flat, but which are adapted to overlap each other in facially abutting relation, when the strip is bent to ring form, as indicated in Fig. 2, each of'said ears being provided with a perforation or bolt hole 18 to receive a bolt 19 which looks the ends of the spring member together. In order to reinforce the member 10 in the area of jointure between the ears 11, plates 16 are bent on a diagonal to form upstanding sections 15 registering with the generally triangular ears 11, when the body portions of the tabs 16 are engaged with theends of the strip 10 in the angles between the face of the strip and the ears 11. The edges of each of the tabs 16 opposite the upstanding portions 15 are formed with hooked flanges 1'7, which overhang the corresponding edges of the strip 10 and constitute clips adapted to engage the lateral edges of the impact member 2. The tabs 16 are preferably secured to the body 10 by spot welds and the upturned flanges or portions 15 are provided with openings registering with the openings in the ears 11, said registering openings constituting the holes to receive the bolt and" nut lock 19. The mid portion of the body 10 is provided with a hole 12 to receive a bolt 13 by means of which the spring support is secured to the post 1.

As indicated in the drawing, the cars 11 are formed by bending the ends of the spring 10 on parallellines at 45 to the longitudinal axis of the blank from which said spring is formed, but it will be understood the parallel lines of the bend may be made in a wide range of acute angularity to the longitudinal axis of the blank and the ears bent at right angles to the plane of the blank while the latter is flat, as the ears will be substantially parallel and overlapping, when the blank is bent to ring form. Also, instead of forming the ears 11 from the body of the blank, they may be constituted by the upstanding sections 15 of reinforcing plates 16, in which case the faces of said sections 15 will be brought into parallel overlapping relation, when the blank is bent to ring form, and may be locked together by the bolt'19.

As thus constituted, the spring support provides a sturdy but highly resilient connection between the impact member of the road guard and the post upon which the latter is supported, the said spring support being capable of absorbing a relatively large proportion of the forces produced by impact of a vehicle on the guard, thereby minimizing the damage to both the vehicle and the guard. Furthermore, the hooked flanges I? afford effective clips for the impact member 2, either holding the same in proper position, while permitting of the necessary longitudinal movement of the impact member under the influence of a tensioning means connecting the latter with the terminal posts or with intermediate supports of the guard, when the impact member is maintained under tension,,or clamping the impact member firmly and securely to the spring supports at each post, as may be found desirable or expedient. In the event that the impact memberor members of the guard take the form of cables, or other continuous longitudinal elements, the hooked flanges 17 will be given an appropriate form to properly engage and secure the said impact member or members to the spring supports.

As stated, the spring support is both economical and efiicient, in that it may be made from sheet steel stampings involving little or on waste and relatively few mechanical operations, the efficiency of the support being predicated on its strength and resiliency and the relative simplicity of the attachments between the same and the supporting posts on the one hand and with the impact member of the guard on the other.

What I claim is:

1. A spring support for impact members of road guards, comprising a strip of spring metal bent into ring form and having ears on its ends adapted to overlap each other in facial engagement in the completed ring, means for locking the ears together, each of said ears being provided with means adapted to overlap the outer face of the impact member of the road guard for attaching said member to the ring, and means for securing the ring to a support,

2. A spring support for impact members of road guards comprising a strip of spring metal bent into ring form and having ears on its ends adapted to overlap each other in facial engagement in the completed ring, means for locking the ears together, means for securing the ring to a support, and means for attaching the front of the ring to the impact member of the guard including .tabs' rigid with the ring and having hooked flanges respectively adjacent the upper and lower edges of the ring adapted to engage said impact member.

3. A spring support for the impact members of road guards, comprising a substantially square ended strip of spring metal bent into ring form, the ends being bent on parallel lines at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the strip to form ears adapted to overlap each other in the completed ring, tabs having angular faces engaging the ears and adjacent body portions of the ring and hooked flanges overhanging the upper and lower edges of the ring, means for locking the ears together, and means for securing the ring to a support.

4. A spring support as described in claim 1, in which the ears are provided with registering perforations and a bolt engaging said perforations constituting the locking means.

5. A spring support for the impact members of road guards, comprising a square ended strip of spring metal bent into ring form, the ends being bent on parallel lines at an acute angle to the axis of the strip to form triangular ears at a right angles to the plane of the fiat strip and adapted to overlap each other in the completed ring, said gether in overlapping relation, said ring being provided with a plurality of means respectively adapted to overlap the outer face of the impact member of the guard for attaching the latter to the ring, one of said means being rigid with one end of the strip and another of said means being rigid with the opposite end of the strip.

7. A spring support for impact members of road guards comprising a strip of metal bent into ring form and having its ends secured in overlapping relation, each end of the strip being provided with an outwardly spaced portion adapted to overlap the outer face of the impact member for attaching the latter to the ring, said outwardly spaced portions extending in opposite directions.

8. A spring support for impact members of road guards comprising a strip of metal bent into ring form and having end portions secured in overlapping relation, said end portions being disposed in planes at an oblique angle to the longitudinal axis of the strip, and means for attaching and adapted to overlap the outer fact of the impact member.

EUGENE V. CAMP. 

